In a letter to the Guardian, Alexis Abramson, dean of the Columbia Climate School, welcomes a UK proposal to use "solar bonds" to make rooftop solar panels more affordable, calling it a smart fix for the rising cost of capital. Under the scheme, investors would receive a modest guaranteed return while homeowners gain access to cheaper finance, with the loan attached to the property rather than the individual, meaning it need not be repaid if someone moves house. Abramson argues the model deserves consideration in the US too, where existing options such as leases and green bank loans leave gaps that solar bonds could fill.

Abramson notes that leases let US homeowners install panels with no upfront cost but mean they never own the system, while green bank loans, offered in states such as Connecticut and New York, remain tied to the borrower rather than the property. The bond mechanism itself resembles existing state and municipal infrastructure bonds, simply made retail-facing and earmarked for solar. The main obstacle is repayment: the UK can link payments to a standing charge on national energy bills, whereas the US's fragmented utility landscape makes a state-by-state approach more realistic than a federal one. Abramson stresses the need is urgent, since the 30% federal residential solar tax credit and the Solar for All programme both expired at the end of 2025.